Maybe, but he's no Rusty Hardin. Didn't Buzbee have his house trashed by a drunken hooker a couple of years ago on a "first date?"
Not that it has anything to do with Watson at all but I never got the impression that either Johnson was a member of that club.
An optimist would say that the Jets have finally turned the corner because all this shit didnt come out after we traded multiple 1st round picks for him..
The Johnsons are likely connected through Stephen Ross, Arthur Blank, the Glazers and Paul Allen at least. You can look at the deals that teams have done over the years and get a feel for which owners rub elbows at the NFL meetings. This is mostly social theory and I could be wrong but I think the age of the outlier owner has kind of passed at this point. Al Davis was kind of in that camp but he never had to get approval to own a franchise, coming in as part of a group in the NFL/AFL merger. A lot of the teams today are owned by people who got approved by 75% of the other owners on the way in the door. That's a big part of the NFL club phenomenon.
Absolutely not connected with Ross and Blank. If they were the Gase Catastrophe would never have happened. And I think the outlier theory might explain why they have made so many boneheaded decisions. Guys "in the club" don't like to be embarrassed by the company they keep.
Just an odd situation on so many levels. All of a sudden 22 women speak up AFTER he demands a trade from Houston? Coincidence or did Watson know this was coming and was looking for a way out before it got ugly? Ultimately Watson wouldn’t hire Rusty Hardin if he was planning to settle. He will fight this and probably win given Hardins history.
I'll go with what you said first: just an odd situation. It started oddly with Watson demanding a trade after signing a huge guaranteed contract. It continued oddly with the Texans trying to negotiate a huge deal through McClain, apparently without actually offering the deal to anybody in particular. Then the other shoe dropped with all the sexual assault complaints. Unfortunately for Watson 'boys will be boys' is gone as an effective defense at this point. That leaves 'he said/22x she said' and counting. Unless Watson can effectively counter most of those allegations he faces NFL disciplinary action/team disciplinary action and then the criminal investigation likely to follow. Since Instagram was apparently involved and some of the women came across state lines, well the jurisdictional boundaries on this are going to get very blurred. Weinstein committed most of his offenses in California but NY locked him up after tying him to a specific series of offenses that happened in NYC.
Hold your horses there. The burden of proof in a criminal case is far different than in a civil case. In a criminal case the state needs to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt”. In a civil case it’s “more likely than not”.
Neither of these really matter when you're talking about the NFL code of conduct though. Players are suspended for simply suspicion of involvement. Ezekiel Elliott was investigated after his ex-girlfriend filed charges yet he was never charged. He was docked six games. The NFL is going to get caught with their pants down if they don't eventually do something with this many plaintiffs - civil or criminal. Optics matter a lot for the NFL. And his trade value has probably completely dried up to nothing.
The civil cases will be enough to for NFL/team discipline. A criminal case will depend on whether or not the authorities think they can convict Watson. That's going to depend on what evidence the civil plaintiffs bring forward while making their cases. The way for Watson to avoid discipline is to run the table on the civil cases. Odds?
End of the road for Watson in terms of him making his way to Jets. Moving Watson thread to NFL Forum tomorrow.
Dear DeShaun, Fuck you and your whole life if you ever abused a woman. Fuck you, fuck the parents who raised you.
The civil case will absolutely factor into the NFLs discipline, but I was responding to a comment that insinuated that Watson was facing real jail time. There is a reason Buzbee is trying to win this in civil court as opposed to criminal court. My prediction? The civil case carries on well into the season and Watson is placed on the commissioner exempt list. Eventually it gets resolved and the Texans trade Watson in the 2022 offseason.
Buzbee isn’t a prosecutor; there is no professional or personal gain for him if he is prosecuted. His sole job is the civil claim.
True. I guess if the only thing you have destroyed is your Playstation and a bong instead of a few million dollars worth of Warhols and other artwork it won't make the papers.